Super Fighting Roll
by ExoZadakh
Summary: Dr. Wily schemes to take over the world! In order to stop him, a humble helper robot volunteers to be weaponized—but what if a different robot stepped forward this time? A Roll-Reversal AU.
1. Fight 1-1

"Dr. Light!" Rock called. "Where do you want this crate?"

The old scientist poked his head around the corner, answering, "Which…ah, yes! Take it to storage room 3. I'll need to remember where those parts are for my next experiment."

"Got it!" With a heave, Rock lifted the large metal crate over his head and made his way toward the staircase.

"Now let's see," Light murmured as he walked down the hall, "where did I leave that duster? I had it just a moment ago…"

Something gently poked him in the arm. Turning, he was met with a bespectacled woman in a lab coat brandishing the tool in question at him, saying, "Looking for this?"

"There it is! Thank you, Noele!"

Handing it over, LaLinde said, "You're in more trouble than I thought. It looks like you haven't properly organized this place in a month—how are you planning to get it clean by tomorrow?"

"Haha, I suppose I don't have much of a plan," Light said as he got to work. "We've been so busy with the press and final preparations that we haven't had a chance to do much cleaning. But I don't want anyone thinking I live in a dump!"

"You're hardly the first eccentric scientist to live in an organized mess. There's no need to be so self-conscious, Thomas."

Rock returned to the living room, already searching for a new task. Through the door walked a brown-haired girl in a green dress, carrying a rusted toolbox in each hand; he stopped and asked, "Do you need any help, Tempo?"

She didn't stop or turn, continuing straight ahead with a blank look on her face. "Negative. Situation under control."

Rock scratched his head as he stared after her. LaLinde looked from him to Tempo to Light, noticing that the other scientist's dusting had slowed considerably.

"…It's killing you not to say something, isn't it?" she said quietly.

Light smiled at her. "You came to help me out of a tight spot, Noele. I'm not so rude as to use the chance to criticize you."

LaLinde nodded. "Right…where's your broom? The lab floor needs swept up."

"Roll was using it last. Roll?"

"In here!" came a reply from the end of the hall.

Light followed the voice to its source, ending up in a large closet containing countless stacks of boxes. Roll knelt next to one on the floor, picking up the items that were strewn about to place inside of it; Rush stood on the opposite side of the container, helping as best he could, though there wasn't much the robotic canine could get a good grip on with his teeth.

"A box had fallen and broken open—must have happened some time while we were out," Roll explained. "I've almost got it back together!"

"Splendid! Say, could you tell me where the broom is?"

"I left it in the kitchen! It should be right beside the fridge."

"Thank you, my dear!"

As he turned to leave, he heard Roll hum in confusion. "Huh. What's this?"

Light looked back to see what she had. It was a rectangular device roughly the size of a tablet, made of black metal and adorned with two large gears—one red, one blue. The doctor paused for a very long moment before walking over.

"Oh," he said as he took the item, "I haven't seen this in years…this was made by an old friend of mine, during our college days. I forgot about it completely."

Roll stood up, carefully examining the device. "What does it do, Dr. Light?"

"It was designed to vastly increase a robot's abilities. With this system installed, their strength and speed could be amplified well beyond their normal limitations, enabling them to complete far more difficult tasks with ease."

"Wow! That sounds really useful!"

Light sighed. "Well, perhaps…but putting so much stress on a robot is very dangerous. Every robot who tested this system tore their own body apart in the process. I begged him to reconsider what he was doing, but he wouldn't listen: he only cared about increasing a robot's output, not what condition they wound up in."

"Oh…that's terrible. You were friends with someone like that?"

Chuckling, Light handed the device back to Roll. "There was a time we were friends. But because of this, we had quite the falling out. I've tried to get back in touch with him over the years, but it seems he's still not interested in patching things up."

Roll turned the device over, saying, "Do you really want to keep this? Doesn't it just bring up bad memories?"

"I believe it's still important to remember them just the same. Or, perhaps I'm just a sentimental old fool who's too reluctant to part with anything, ha ha ha…"

Roll smiled. She placed the device inside the box, closed it, and put it away, and then ran out into the hall with Rush on her heels. "I'll go get the broom for you!"

Light shut the door behind him and began to look for LaLinde. As he passed the staircase, he caught a flash of movement, and so descended into the lab to find his friend surveying the room. Her gaze lingered on what occupied the center of the floor: six humanoid forms of varying builds and sizes, standing inactive in a single line. LaLinde pursed her lips as she stood before them.

"Robots made to think and act independently," she said, "all about to be sent off on their own. Still not having any second thoughts?"

"None," Light said, coming up beside her. "The Robot Masters are going to do a lot of good, all around the world. Maybe it won't be easy, and maybe there are still risks, but I can't stop now knowing how great a help they will be to humanity."

LaLinde crossed her arms. "I don't doubt that. We've both tested the model thoroughly, and I have every confidence these robots will be useful. I'm asking if you've altered their cognitive parameters."

"I know. I haven't."

LaLinde slowly walked down the line, glancing over each robot she passed.

"If robots and humans are to coexist as true companions, then robots need identity. We can only truly help each other when we are all on equal footing."

"Are you still sure this is best, after everything that's happened? Identity, independence, emotions—they only compromise the Robot Masters' ability to perform their jobs. Haven't our prototypes proved that already?"

Light gave a sad smile. "It certainly has been hard…but Noele, despite everything, they've brought us so much joy, all of them! Isn't that worth it?"

LaLinde hesitated. Ultimately, she adjusted her glasses and stated, "They're robots, Thomas. Robots built to accomplish specific jobs. The efficiency at which they perform those jobs…that's all that really matters."

Frowning, Light looked over the robots, and then towards the equipment that ran up the nearest wall. To himself, he mumbled, "Albert used to say the same thing…"

"Dr. Light?" Roll called as she bounded down the stairs. "There you are! Here, I got the broom you asked for!"

"I'll take that," LaLinde said. "Thank you, Roll."

"Of course!"

LaLinde set to work, and Roll grinned up at the line of Robot Masters.

"I can't wait to wake them all up! They're going to be so happy at their new jobs!"

"I hope so," Light said, patting Roll on the head. "But we'll have to wait just a little longer. I promised I'd have an official unveiling, and I don't want any of them to wander off before then."

"Really? Activating one or two to help us get the place cleaned might not be such a bad idea."

Light stroked his beard as he considered this. It was at this point Rock appeared on the staircase, saying, "Dr. Light, we ran out of bleach! Should I run into town and get some?"

"Oh fiddlesticks," Light said. "Yes, Rock, please do. Oh, come to think of it, we're going to need some more window cleaner as well! And it might not be a bad idea to pick up a few tools while you're out…"

"I have some shopping to do too," Roll said. "Why don't I go with him?"

"That's an excellent idea!"

"Hey, can Tempo come too? An extra pair of hands to carry things would be nice."

After thinking a moment, LaLinde nodded.

"Great! We'll be back in a jiffy!"

"Take your time, kids," Light said. "You've been working exceptionally hard—you deserve a break. We'll keep at it in the meantime."

Roll hurried back up the stairs, and when her party was assembled they exited the lab and started down the long road that led into the city.

"Ah, it's good to get some fresh air!" Roll said. "It's so nice out today!"

"I don't know that 'fresh air' really does much when we don't have lungs," Rock said.

"Oh, hush. There's still a psychological benefit! Right, Tempo?"

The other girl continued to stare forward blankly. "Working conditions irrelevant. On route to complete assigned task."

Roll frowned, exchanging a look with Rock. Her attention was drawn away as Rush dashed off the path towards a bush; he stuck his head inside the shrub, sniffed around a bit, and then barked twice.

"What did you find, boy?" Roll asked as she went to join him. She pushed the branches aside to see a ball lying on the ground. "Oh, that's where that got to. I was worried we'd lost it for good!"

As she picked it up, Rush shuffled back excitedly, his tail wagging at a rapid pace. Giggling, Roll threw the ball down the path, and Rush took off after it, barking happily as he went.

"I hope we'll get to visit the other Robot Masters once they're working," Rock said. "Dr. Light wants to monitor them for a while, so maybe we'll get more chances to play with them."

"Hope so," Roll said, "but those guys are programmed to be really serious about their work. Convincing them to play might be pretty tough."

"Yeah, you might be right…"

Rush came scampering back, dropping the ball in Roll's hand and then jumping back to see if she would throw it again. Roll reared back, but then paused; turning to Tempo, she offered the toy, saying, "Here, why don't you try?"

Tempo took the ball and stared at it.

"Just give it a throw!"

She complied. Rush ran off again, and Tempo's expression remained unchanged.

"…Well," Rock said, "where should we go first when we get to town?"

"Probably the hardware store," Roll said. "It's right on the way in, and I doubt it'll take long. Then we'll see where to go from there."

"Come to think of it, should we check the P.O. box while we're here? Dr. Light didn't mention it, but—"

"No, that's good thinking! It's probably stuffed already with letters about the Robot Masters, we should get a jump on sorting it."

Rush bounded back up to them. Roll took the ball and prepared to throw, but suddenly the sound of an explosion cut through the air. Shock paralyzed her for a moment, and a hesitant fear swelled as she turned around. Light Labs could still be seen in the distance, but now, there was a thick column of smoke pouring out from it.

"Oh no…!"

They ran back as fast as they could. Slamming open the door, they found that the main house seemed to be intact, so the robots sped downstairs to the lab. What they saw was an entire wall completely reduced to rubble, the rest of the room in shambles; doctors Light and LaLinde lay on the floor, while a strange, saucer-like contraption floated in the air above them.

"What's going on?" Roll shouted. "Dr. Light, are you okay?!"

"Hm?" came an unfamiliar voice. "What's this? More of your lauded creations, Light?"

A hatch opened atop the saucer, and out popped an older man clad in a lab coat, sporting a gray mustache and hair that fell into two spiky messes separated by a large bald spot. As he grinned hideously at the scene, Light looked up and muttered, "Roll…Rock...be careful…"

Tempo took a step forward. "Dr. LaLinde, do you require assistance?"

"S-Stay back, Tempo!" LaLinde said, a frantic look in her eyes. "Don't come any closer!"

"Hmph, so these are the prototypes, then?" the man said. "Not worth my time! The six I've already got loaded up will do quite nicely, I think! Nehehehehehe!"

Light began to push himself up. Rock and Roll moved to help him, but he held up a hand to stop them. "Please, Albert, don't—"

"Don't talk like we're still friends, Light!" the man said, pounding his fist against the saucer. "It's Wily! Dr. Wily! And it's a name the world will at last come to fear and respect, once I show just how easily your precious, overpromoted Robot Masters can be bent to my will! Once I reprogram them, I'll use them to—OW!"

His speech was cut off as a broom struck him in the head. Glaring forward, he spotted Roll standing there with a furious gaze of her own, the small robot saying, "You've got a lot of nerve! Why don't you come down here and talk instead of hiding in that ridiculous car, you coward?"

"Hrm…seems your creations will vex me until the end," Wily grumbled. "Well, I've got what I came for. You'll be seeing your Robot Masters again very soon, Light…but they'll be operating under a very different directive! Look forward to it!"

With a cackle, Wily retreated back into his saucer, and the vehicle rose into the sky and shot off into the distance. Rock and Roll went to Light's side, while Tempo helped LaLinde to her feet; Rush was already busy circling the lab, using his built-in fire extinguisher to douse some equipment that had been set ablaze in Wily's break-in.

"Who was that?" Rock asked. "Why did he take the Robot Masters?"

"Albert Wily…" Light said, looking very distant. "My old friend…how did it come to this?"

"There's no time to lament, Thomas," LaLinde said. "With the abilities those Robot Master wield, they could cause untold devastation—nothing the people can muster will be enough to stop them! We have to think of a counter-strategy, and _fast_!"

"Y-Yes, of course." Light slowly stood up. "There must be something we can do…_something_…but what could stop the Robot Masters? They were designed to be in a league all their own. Even the most deadly combat machine wouldn't stand a chance…"

The doctors walked over to the side of the lab, beginning to take stock of what equipment was still functional. Roll stayed where she was for the moment, staring through the open wall and off in the direction Wily had gone.

"…What about another Robot Master?" she asked.

Light turned around. "Another…well, perhaps that _would_ be our best chance. Unfortunately, I sincerely doubt we have the time or resources to make a new Robot Master from scratch."

"It doesn't have to be a new one, though."

"Hm? What do you mean, Roll?"

Roll faced him, saying, "I'm already functional. If you use me as a base, but modify me for combat, then I can go stop the others from hurting anyone!"

Light just stood there at first, gaping. Then, he started, saying, "Roll, what—what are you saying?! I can't send you out there to fight the others! It's much too dangerous! There's no telling what could happen to you!"

"You said this was our best chance! If we don't do anything, then Wily will be free to cause as much chaos as he wants, and we can't just let that happen!"

LaLinde watched Light with concern, hugging Tempo close. "…It…would be an easy upgrade."

Light whirled on her. "What?! Noele, you can't seriously be considering this!"

"What other options do we have, Thomas? How else can we quickly produce a robot on the same level as the Masters Wily's reprogramming as we speak? I know you don't like it, but our circumstances are looking rather grim at the moment."

He struggled to think of a reply. Turning back to Roll, he paused a moment, and then came forward and knelt down next to her.

"Roll," he said. "If we do this, you're going to have to fight…and potentially_ destroy_ the other Robot Masters. Is that really something you're prepared to do?"

Roll stopped to think, wanting to be sure of her answer. "I mean…of course I'd rather not have to fight them. They're family, too. But Wily's already taken them away—there's no way to change that. Now, all I can do is stop him from using them to hurt people, and…" She looked up into Light's eyes, her face set. "I'm willing to do whatever it takes. So please, Dr. Light: let me do this! I promise I'll stop them all!"

Sadness emanated from Light as he took this in. But eventually, he hugged Roll, and said, "Alright. If you're being so brave, then I will be too. Come on, Roll…let's begin the process."

* * *

The city was in shambles. Screams and sirens filled the air, punctuated by periodic explosions as people desperately ran for cover. In the square, a gigantic screen displayed a news report on the disaster, but it was soon cut off, replaced by a recording of Wily.

"Greetings, everyone! My name is Doctor Albert Wily, the most brilliant scientist of our age! Yet despite my genius, time and again my work has been passed over and discarded, while the work of amateurs like Thomas Light hog all the attention! I had heard he was on the brink of unveiling his latest _masterpiece_: autonomous machines known as Robot Masters, which he claimed would revolutionize the world! Bah! I've had enough of being overshadowed by that bleeding heart! If this world is too dull to show me the proper respect…then I'll simply have to reshape the world in my own image, and force you all to grovel at my feet! And it just so happens, I found some robots lying around who supposedly possess the power to reshape the world. That's right: I have reprogrammed Dr. Light's Robot Masters! His pathetic coding was no match for my skills! Now panic, all of you! At my command, the Robot Masters will tear apart this world, all so that I can rebuild it! I look forward to ruling over you miserable cretins…that is, those of you who survive! Nehahaha—"

A bomb hit the screen, shattering it and sending the fragments crashing down onto the pavement. Standing below was a heavy-set robot with a black and orange torso, his feet, arms, and head colored yellow (save his small orange Mohawk). Another bomb appeared in his hand, and he tossed it up and down casually.

"What a windbag," he said. "Why'd he send me someplace so boring? None of these humans are even trying to put up a fight!"

He threw the bomb at a nearby building. Before it made contact, however, some kind of blast hit the explosive, detonating it at a safe range and leaving the structure unscathed.

"Eh?"

The robot turned to see who had fired the shot. Standing down the street was a small robot girl, wearing a simple deep pink dress with a stripe of lighter pink down the front outlined in buttons, and black fabric covering her upper arms and legs. She had large armored boots that were also deep pink, as was the round armor encasing her left forearm, the buster cannon attached to her right, and the rounded helmet through which poked a blonde ponytail held in place by a green bow.

"Bomb Man!" she shouted. "Stand down right this second!"

"…Roll?" he said. He paused to laugh. "What's with the getup? I'm not here to play with you, ya know!"

Scowling, she fired another shot, this one sailing right past Bomb Man's head. "I'm not here to play either."

Bomb Man tilted his head. "…You serious? You really think you can fight me? You're just a lab assistant! I'm a demolition master! You don't stand a chance!"

"I'd rather you come peacefully, but I'll do what I have to! You're being used by Wily to hurt innocent people—how can you stand that? Come home, Bomb Man, and Dr. Light can fix your programming so you can do what you were meant to do!"

Bomb Man laughed, creating a bomb in each hand. "Sorry Roll, no can do. But if you're really willing to give this a try, then I'll take you on. Just try to give me a good fight!"

Roll strafed to avoid the incoming bombs, keeping her buster steady as she returned fire. Bomb Man leapt over the blasts and threw another bomb, so Roll ducked to the side, slid behind a piece of rubble, and waited.

"Roll!" came Dr. Light's voice. "Be especially careful: even with the reinforced armor we gave you, you won't be able to take many of those explosions!"

"It's okay, doctor," Roll said, "I'm not planning to get hit!"

Her cover exploded behind her. Turning, Roll saw more bombs coming, and so took off in a sprint to get clear. Bomb Man laughed as he bounded after her.

"Come on, show me what you can do!" he shouted. "Weren't you gonna do whatever was necessary to stop me? Take it up a notch!"

Roll prepared to fire, but thought better of it. Instead charging energy in her buster, she ran towards another pile of rubble, staying in front of it this time as she stooped to pick up a loose stone. She continued to dodge until Bomb Man was just leaving the ground—throwing the stone at the nearest bomb, it exploded into a thick cloud of smoke that obscured both combatants' fields of view. While Roll doubled back the way she had come, she calculated the trajectory of Bomb Man's jump and fired into the cloud, hearing the shot make contact and a short grunt from Bomb Man.

"Haha…not bad!" Bomb Man said as he landed. "Maybe you_ can_ put up a fight!"

Bomb Man began rapidly hurling bombs, keeping his feet firmly planted as he watched Roll's movements. Roll was on the run again, the explosions staying only a step behind her; she tried to counterattack, but Bomb Man was easily able to dodge before resuming his stream of attacks.

"Find cover!" Light suggested. "If you can stay out of sight, you may be able to get around him for a surprise attack!"

"Got it!" Roll said, shooting one of the bombs in mid-air.

Expecting another blind shot, Bomb Man dodged backward and kept his eyes peeled. When nothing came, he prepared more bombs, only to realize as the smoke cleared that Roll was nowhere in sight.

"Aw, come on, Roll!" he called. "You were just starting to give me a good fight! Don't leave me hanging!"

Crouched behind a broken brick wall, Roll grumbled, "You always did have a short fuse…"

As her foe started to lob bombs at random, Roll stayed low and crept behind the wall, peeking out where she felt it was safe so that she could keep track of where Bomb Man was. Soon she ran out of wall, and quickly charged energy while watching Bomb Man through a small opening. He was throwing bombs in the opposite direction. Springing up, Roll fired the shot. It nearly connected, but Bomb Man twisted around just in time, simultaneously throwing a bomb that struck Roll before she could dodge. All she could register was pain as the explosion hurled her back into the ruined building, slamming hard into the opposite wall. The overtaxed foundation shuddered at the impact, and with a loud creak, what remained of the building's second floor began to collapse.

"Roll, get out of there!" LaLinde shouted.

With seconds to spare, Roll jumped forward and vaulted over the wall she had been hiding behind, feeling a rush of air as the rubble came crashing down behind her. Bomb Man was waiting. He hurled another explosive at her, but she didn't stop moving: she slid underneath the bomb, charging energy once again, and unleashed it all at Bomb Man the instant she stood back up. The blast sent him reeling.

"Whew," Roll sighed. "That was close!"

Bomb Man laughed as he got back up. "Well I'll be! I have to say, Roll, I never expected you'd be the one to finally challenge me!"

"So are you satisfied? It's not too late to come home peacefully, Bomb Man!"

He just shook his head, already holding a new bomb. "You don't get it, do you? Whatever my old programming was, it's gone now! Right now, all I know is that I need to destroy as much as possible, just like Wily ordered me to do! As long as I'm functional, I have to do everything in my power to fulfill that directive!"

Roll raised her buster. "…That's too bad. I guess I don't have a choice, then."

The crossfire began anew. Roll focused on evading while staying close to Bomb Man, managing to hit him with a few shots and prompting him to jump back. Sliding forward a few times, Roll closed the distance, forcing Bomb Man to retreat even further. She stumbled a bit as the edge of an explosion singed her, but didn't let the slip-up cost her. Eventually, Bomb Man was forced to leap back again, this time landing inside a half-wrecked building.

"Hah!" he said as he formed a bomb. "Now I've got cover! Let's see you—"

Roll shot the bomb before it left his hand. The explosion knocked Bomb Man to floor, and disturbed his surroundings enough that the entire structure shook. Bomb Man tried to get up, but he wasn't quick enough, and he disappeared beneath a rain of bricks.

"Sorry, Bomb Man," Roll said as she finally lowered her buster. "We'll repair you later, I promise."

"Well done, Roll!" Light said. "Do you think you can get him out of there? There's something—"

The rubble exploded suddenly, and a badly injured Bomb Man staggered to his feet. Glaring forward, he said, "Don't think…that's enough…to finish me!"

Roll took aim again as he limped forward. She hesitated at first, seeing how weakly he shambled towards her, but when he summoned another bomb she knew she had to act. The explosive detonated in Bomb Man's grasp once again, this one being enough to rip apart his damaged frame and bring the fight to a decisive end. Roll stared blankly at what was left of him.

"…Well…that solves that, I suppose," Light said quietly. "Roll, can you set a hand on him for a moment?"

Roll looked up as if snapping out of a trance. "Huh? Oh, um, okay."

She knelt next to Bomb Man's remains, placing her hand on one of his arms and waiting. Data suddenly came rushing in, and before she had a chance to process it, her outfit turned green and white. Roll pulled her hand back in surprise.

"What was that?" she asked.

"Since we didn't have time to properly equip you for the battles ahead, we installed something that will allow you to equip yourself as you progress," Light explained. "The Variable Weapon System has the ability to download weapon data from other robots, as long as you're able to place your palm on them for a few seconds. Now, in addition to your buster, you'll have access to Bomb Man's Hyper Bomb!"

Roll held out her hand and focused. Sure enough, a bomb sprang into existence, and she lobbed it skyward to watch it explode. "Oh…"

"One thing to be mindful of," broke in LaLinde. "Weapons downloaded this way have a limited ammo supply, unlike your default buster. There are ways to replenish it, but while you're out there, you'll need to think carefully about when and where to use them."

"I see. Okay, I'll remember."

"Roll," Light said, "are you alright?"

Roll looked down at Bomb Man. "I'm…a little upset, I guess. But I'm ready to move on."

"Roll, if you've changed your mind—"

"No, definitely not! If I did, then Bomb Man…well, I've already beaten him, so now I have to see this through."

Light sighed. "I see. Very well. Hold tight while we program the next co-ordinates."

As he worked, Roll kept staring at Bomb Man's broken body, feeling an ache deep in her cognitive systems.

_We'll rebuild him. When this is all over, he'll be back to his old self, and he can go to work helping people like Dr. Light wanted. It's up to me to get us there as soon as I can. I'll keep fighting to bring things back to the way they were._

* * *

Notes:

-Today is Mega Man's 32nd anniversary, so what better day to kick off a Mega Man project I've been planning for so long! With this, I'm officially embarking on the Roll-Reversal AU project, a collection of fics that rework the various Mega Man series with their respective Roll as the main character! That's not going to be the only change, of course: I'll be taking several other liberties in the adaptation, sort of like rewriting each series in my own style using the change of lead as a starting point. If you've read my Shooting Star Sonia series, it'll be similar to that, though these won't be as in-depth as that series—for Classic alone that'd mean 11 full-length stories, and I just don't know if I have that much in me. Super Fighting Roll will be a single story divided into self-contained arcs, adapting (and in most cases mixing) elements of the Classic games to streamline the process and avoid getting repetitive. For the time being, the plan is to write a complete arc, then post it chapter-by-chapter, because I really like having regular updates and this seems the best way to achieve that. This first arc is only three chapters, and for the anniversary I'll be posting them in rapid succession with 1-2 tomorrow and 1-3 the day after. I hope you enjoy!

-One of the first big changes you see is the inclusion of elements from the Archie Mega Man comic. I won't be leaning too far into it, but I really like Tempo and feel she and LaLinde have something to add to this iteration of the story as well, though for now it may feel like something of a slow burn. Trust me, I've got a plan!

-Also, yes, Rush is around earlier, but he won't be equipped to assist Roll in the field until next arc. Here he starts out as a regular family pet robot dog.

-Roll's combat design is actually taken from official artwork that was used on the Mega Man Twitter to promote Mega Man 11. With the pose used it's hard to tell, but I think the design may have also featured a heart-shaped chest plate? I decided to leave that out though—she already looks a lot like Harp Note without it, and I didn't want anyone thinking I was just copying her design here.

-One thing I was considering doing is what MM11 did: changing Roll's helmet and arm whenever she uses the Variable Weapon System. However, the idea of doing that for, what, 80? More Robot Masters sounds like a daunting task, and one that will probably turn out repetitive designs fairly quick. Plus, several of the color palettes used for Special Weapons don't actually match the Robot Master they're taken from, so I'd have to reconcile that. Maybe Roll will get an upgrade in a future arc if I change my mind, but for now I'm keeping it simple.


	2. Fight 1-2

Roll slowly looked around. At first glance the construction site looked perfectly normal: the only thing broken was an incomplete building frame that had fallen apart, and all the equipment seemed to be in working order.

"We've detected Guts Man at this location," LaLinde said. "He could be anywhere, so be sure to keep your guard up."

"Are you sure he hasn't left?" Roll asked. "This place looks a lot better than where we found Bomb Man."

"We'll scan again to be sure," Light said.

As she waited, Roll heard something. A shadow moved over her, and she looked up to see a large boulder falling straight towards her; she slid out of the way just in time, and then aimed her buster in the direction it had come from. Standing atop a large mound of rocks on a tall hill was an incredibly large robot with an equally oversized jaw, clad in red, yellow, and black armor, with a distinctive construction helmet build into his head.

"Uh, nevermind," Roll said, "he's here."

"So!" Guts Man yelled down. "I hear you bested Bomb Man! You must be tougher than I realized if that's true!"

"Please, Guts Man! Surrender peacefully, and I'll take you back home to have your programming restored!"

"What? What kind of weak talk is that?! The only way I'm leaving here is if you robot up and _make_ me stop!"

Hefting another rock, Guts Man hurled it with ease and watched as Roll dodged to the side before running forward to get in range. She nimbly evaded each stone he threw at her, charging energy as she closed in, and fired as soon as she was close enough—Guts Man put out his free hand to catch the blast, taking some damage but not missing a beat as he threw the next rock.

"Are puny attacks like that all you've got?" he shouted. "Maybe beating Bomb Man was just a fluke!"

Roll scowled as she dodged. Activating the Variable Weapon System, she equipped the Hyper Bomb data and lobbed one right at Guts Man. It bounced off his chest armor, right into his hand, and he laughed as he threw it back to explode in mid-air between them.

"W…what was that?!" Roll asked.

"Huh, so you took Bomb Man's bombs as your own," Guts Man said. "But it looks like you haven't learned how to time 'em properly!"

Roll grunted and formed another bomb. She held it for a second this time before rearing back, and decided to aim this one at the foot of the pile of rocks. There was still a small delay, but the explosion succeeded in blasting the stones apart, sending Guts Man sprawling momentarily as well.

"Hehe! I'm a fast learner!"

Guts Man sprang to his feet. After shaking his fist for a moment, he turned to a nearby bulldozer and used both hands to lift it over his head.

"Uh-oh…"

Roll ran as fast as she could, grabbing hold of a nearby barrier to steady herself as the bulldozer smashed into the ground not far away. She looked up to see Guts Man approaching, and so she readied another bomb, waiting just a minute before giving it a toss. This one hit the arm of a crane that was parked along Guts Man's path—the explosion pulverized the support to bits, letting the load of girders plummet as the Robot Master passed beneath them.

_But that's probably not enough._

As expected, Guts Man pushed off the beams in a matter of seconds. Roll managed to time a Hyper Bomb as he emerged, stunning him momentarily, but as she formed another he picked up one of the girders and threw it like a javelin. Dodging just in time, Roll tossed the bomb she held, but she had waited too long and it exploded before reaching Guts Man. He came charging through the smoke with surprising speed, delivering a punch that sent Roll flying.

"Is that all?!" Guts Man bellowed.

The landing dazed Roll. As her head cleared, she saw yet another rock being flung towards her, and dropped a Hyper Bomb on the ground as she scrambled to her feet. The blast blew apart the rock just as it made contact, giving Roll some cover as she circled the construction site.

"Keep pushing," LaLinde said. "Guts Man's armor is tough, but sustaining a direct Hyper Bomb hit like that should have shaken up his internal components. You're nearly there."

"But don't get reckless!" Light said. "You've taken a lot of damage too—you need to be sure to keep your distance, Roll!"

"It's okay!" Roll said. "I think I know how to finish the fight without getting too close. Just give me a second!"

Guts Man stayed where he was, fists clenched as he looked around for some sign of Roll. She snuck up the nearby hill to the pile of rubble Guts Man had previously used and, quickly as she could without getting spotted, gathered it all up near the edge and set a Hyper Bomb behind the pile. The explosive went off, triggering a rockslide—Guts Man spun around and grinned, walking forward into the oncoming avalanche.

"Nice try!" he shouted, swatting a rock away just as it rolled up to him. "But you'd need something a lot heavier to scare me! Just wait til I…"

He stopped as he knocked aside another boulder to see a Hyper Bomb rolling behind it. Guts Man managed to leap aside and avoid the explosion, but as he landed he saw another bomb in the mix. Another jump carried him clear, but the next time he landed, one of the rocks hit him and threw him off-balance, leaving him completely unprotected as another bomb rolled right up to him. The blast knocked Guts Man on his back, letting another few boulders bounce onto him as they went by. Wearily, Guts Man pulled himself into a sitting position; he could hear his mechanisms creaking, but it only served to make him angrier.

"No way…am I going down!" Guts Man said, hauling himself to his feet. "You hear me, Roll? I won't lose!"

Roll hopped on top of a bulldozer. "I don't care about winning! If you just come home, then you can tell everyone that you beat me. We don't have to keep fighting!"

Guts Man snorted. Grabbing a rock, he said, "I already…told you…"

He lifted it over his head. As he moved to throw it, his arm buckled, and he dropped the boulder with a surprised grunt. Roll formed another bomb.

"Fine," she said as she tossed it.

Guts Man reached out, thinking he could knock the bomb away in time. He was mistaken. Roll jumped down and slowly walked forward, stooping to place her hand on one of Guts Man's broken pieces and download his weapon data. Her clothes turned brown and white once it was processed.

"Where's the next one?" Roll asked.

"Roll," Light said, "perhaps you should come home first."

"I'm okay, Dr. Light. I don't want to waste any time in getting this done."

"Going by our readings, you're in dire need of repairs," LaLinde said. "Not to mention your Hyper Bomb is almost out of ammunition. You won't last another battle."

Roll couldn't think of an argument.

"It won't take long, Roll," Light said. "Please, come home."

After thinking it over a few more seconds, Roll said, "Alright…bring me back."

She took another look back at Guts Man. Then, the world rushed around her as she was teleported to the lab.

* * *

It didn't take long for her to find Cut Man: the orange and white robot stood on a boulder in the middle of the wrecked park, twirling his scissor-shaped blade around in one hand as he waited for Roll to arrive. He grinned when he saw her, attaching the weapon to the top of his head.

"There you are!" he shouted. "Dr. Wily said you'd be coming for me! I figure the only way you were able to beat Bomb Man and Guts Man was by surprising them, but you'll have no such luck with me!"

Roll armed her buster. "Please, Cut Man: I'd rather take you home safely! Give up, and we'll have Dr. Light restore your programming right away!"

Cut Man's smile faded. "…Hm. I mean, I guess it would be nice to get back to plain ol' tree-cutting. I'm not really cut out for this 'world domination' business."

Roll looked up sharply. "R…Really?"

"Yeah…yeah!" Cut Man extended his hand. "Forget this. I want to go home."

Smiling, Roll came forward to take his hand. "I'm so glad! After how stubborn the others were, I was worried that you'd all—"

The second she was in range, Cut Man snatched his blade off his head and swung, leaving a gash down the arm of a very confused Roll as she stumbled back.

"W…What…?"

Cut Man laughed. "Wow, you're so gullible! Of course I wouldn't give up so easily! Did you really forget that we've been totally reprogrammed? Guess you're not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed!"

He continued laughing, though his mirth tapered off quickly as Roll just stood there, motionless. When she looked up, she was wearing a scowl that nearly made Cut Man's circuit board freeze up.

"Uh…"

"You _jerk_!" Roll shouted as she opened fire.

Cut Man was caught off-guard by the sudden volley of shots. He was blasted off the boulder, quickly springing to his feet and taking off. Turning, he threw his blade through the air, but Roll hit it with a blast, robbing it of all momentum and making it drop straight to the ground. There was no time to retrieve it: two Hyper Bombs were flying his way, so Cut Man had to keep running. The blasts detonated right behind him—no shots followed, so he slowed to a halt and waited for the smoke to clear.

"Um, Roll?" he asked.

When he could see her again, she had the Super Arm engaged, using its raw strength to effortlessly lift the boulder he had been perched on over her head.

"Uh-oh!"

Cut Man tried to dodge, but the force behind Roll's throw carried the boulder straight to him faster than he could react. The blow connected, leaving him sprawled out on the ground as Roll stormed towards him.

"That was a dirty trick, Cut Man!" she said. "You should know better than that!"

"Roll," came Dr. Light's voice, "there's another—"

"Honestly! I can't believe you would stoop so low, even reprogrammed! Dr. Light built you better than that!"

"Roll, wait a moment!"

Scrambling back, Cut Man said, "H-Hey, hold on, Roll! It was just a joke! I'm really sorry!"

"Sorry?!" Roll said, hefting the boulder once again.

Cut Man ran as she reared back. Before she could finish her throw, however, a burst of electricity collided with the rock, pulverizing it to dust and knocking Roll back a little. Turning, she saw another Robot Master standing nearby: much of his armor was black and red, but his boots, the rings on his wrists, and his angular mask were all yellow. A lightning bolt design was on his chest plate, and a similarly-shaped protrusion sprouted from the top of his mask.

"Pathetic," he said. "I knew you were going to need help, but I didn't think you'd be losing this badly!"

"Hey," Cut Man said, "I had the situation under control! I didn't ask for your help, Elec Man!"

"Just stay out of my way. It's clear that you don't have the power necessary to overcome our sister here."

"I was trying to warn you," Light said, "we detected another Robot Master closing in! And what's worse, it's Elec Man…"

Roll took a deep breath. "Sorry, doctor: I got a little carried away. I'll try to calm down."

"We're getting you out of there! You aren't prepared to fight two of them at the same time!"

"No, I can do it! This is a chance to pick up the pace—we can't lose it!"

"…We did just restore her," LaLinde said. "There's no better time than now."

Light still hesitated. Roll raised her buster as sparks encircled Elec Man, who said, "If you're done?"

Three bolts of lightning shot from his hand. Roll didn't try to counterattack yet—she focused solely on dodging, quickly learning the openings in her foe's attacks. She knew the reason Dr. Light was so concerned, and though she wouldn't let it stop her, ignoring it altogether would surely prove fatal.

_Elec Man is the most advanced design Dr. Light's ever made,_ she thought as she moved. _Speed, durability, power…he's a step above all the others._

She tested a few shots. Elec Man evaded them with little effort, continuing to hurl lightning at her unfettered.

_He destroyed that rock, meaning the Super Arm won't be much help. I'm not liking the way the buster's odds are looking, but…_

Roll switched to Hyper Bombs, tossing three in rapid succession; Elec Man destroyed them all in mid-air, throwing another attack a second later to keep Roll on the defensive. That was when he finally moved in.

"Not terrible," he said. "But not enough!"

As she tried spawning another bomb, Roll was forced to jump clear of another blast of lightning, the reduced range leaving fewer openings for her to escape through. The delay threw off her timing, forcing her to simply drop the bomb and run to avoid being caught in the explosion. Elec Man raced after her.

Nearby, Cut Man watched the fight unfold, sitting with his arms crossed. "Stupid Elec Man…I totally could've cut down Roll on my own!"

As they moved farther and farther away, he glanced across the battlefield. His blade still lay where it had been shot down.

"…Hm…well, if he gets to cut in, it's only fair I return the favor…"

Roll continued to dodge, but she was rapidly losing space to run. She managed to land a hit with a charge shot, but Elec Man shrugged off the blow, driving her back towards a wall of rubble. He held both hands forward and fired a wide blast of lightning, expecting it to finish Roll. However, she managed to slide forward under the beam, engaging the Super Arm as she did. Just as she was passing Elec Man, she came up onto her feet, instantly dug her heels in, and threw a punch at the side of Elec Man's face, knocking him off his feet.

"Wh—impossible!" Elec Man shouted.

Knowing this might be her only opportunity, Roll tossed two Hyper Bombs as her foe recovered. She shot one, setting them both off in a chain reaction, and then returned to the Super Arm to pick up the nearest piece of rubble and hurl it. Staying low, Roll moved into the edge of the cloud of smoke, quickly preparing another charge shot. Elec Man soon emerged with a furious yell. Roll managed to shoot his leg, but her foe wasn't as badly wounded as she had hoped: he immediately retaliated, just barely missing as Roll retreated.

"Darn it!" Roll said. "I really thought I had him there!"

Electricity flew off of Elec Man in random arcs. "I told you already, Roll! Your power isn't enough to beat mine! Be stubborn if you want, but I'll shut you down one way or another!"

Dancing around bolts again, Roll thought, _He's not as precise now. I might be able to get in a shot or two, but it wouldn't help all that much, and I'll just get cornered again. A Hyper Bomb might do more, if I could throw it that far, but…_

An idea occurred to her. Waiting until what seemed like the best moment, Roll spawned a Hyper Bomb and waited. Just as it was about ready, she switched to the Super Arm and reared back, readying all of its tremendous strength for one throw. Before she could, something cut her from behind. The blow stunned her to the point that she dropped the bomb, and just as it exploded at her feet, Elec Man hit her dead-on with one of his blasts. As she worked to process the pain she was registering, Roll was vaguely aware of being launched up and back, Cut Man laughing at her, and Elec Man finally ceasing his assault. She landed hard. For a moment, her systems felt entirely out of synch. Light was shouting, but she couldn't make out a single word.

"I told you to stay out of my way!" Elec Man said.

Cut Man shrugged. "Well excuse me! Just thought I'd help you out there, brother."

"Hah! Help from _you_? Don't be absurd!"

"I dunno, it looked like she got you pretty good a second ago."

"Shut your mouth!"

Roll slowly picked herself up as they argued. Under her breath, she muttered, "Ow…I don't think I can take another hit like that…"

"You have a chance to retreat, Roll!" Light said. "We'll repair you and come up with a new strategy, and then—"

"Thomas, we don't have another strategy!" LaLinde interjected. "She's all we've got!"

"Which is why we can't let her be destroyed! If nothing else, she can live to fight another day!"

"Dr. Light," Roll said, "I'm okay, really. If we let them go, it'll probably just be even harder to stop them next time. I'll find a way to stop them here!"

"You must think of your own safety!" Light said. "Please, come back!"

Her foes finally turned back to her. Light continued to plead with her as she tried to think of a plan. Elec Man said, "I'm surprised you can stand after that. Next time, you won't be so lucky!"

Roll sighed. Reaching towards her helmet, she said, "Sorry, Dr. Light…but I have to focus."

She shut off her communicator as Elec Man readied an attack. Cut Man shoved in front of him, throwing his blade at Roll. She dodged, landing a few shots on both of them as they fumbled, and then ducked as the blade boomeranged back around. Elec Man threw Cut Man back and unleashed another blast. Roll just evaded, not taking the risk of counterattacking; Cut Man's blade appeared between the bolts, slicing through her ribbon as she threw herself on the ground. Elec Man stepped aside as it flew back, shouting at Cut Man. Roll's eyes widened.

_That's it! If I can just distract him…_

She fired as she circled to one side. Elec Man and Cut Man easily avoided the shots, and more electricity was flying at her before she knew it. Roll slid past it and activated the Hyper Bomb. Just as Cut Man threw his blade, she created one of the explosives, and carefully wove between the incoming attacks as she counted down. The blade turned around, and Roll threw the bomb. It bounced off the ground, up into one of Elec Man's blasts, and exploded just before him, not close enough to cause damage but just enough to make him flinch. When he opened his eyes, he saw Cut Man's blade flying back through the smoke. He screamed as it sliced clean through his shoulder.

"Whoops!" Cut Man said as he caught the weapon. "Eh, guess you gotta be more careful there, huh?"

Clutching his wound, Elec Man spun and glared at Cut Man. "You…imbecile…! I've had enough of you!"

Cut Man staggered back as Elec Man pointed in his direction. Before he even had the chance to run, a powerful blast of lightning punched through his body, tearing him to pieces that fell in a mess on the ground. Elec Man took a deep breath as he turned back towards Roll.

"…Hm?"

She was gone. Elec Man walked forward, surveying the area for any sign of her, but he had no idea where she had disappeared to.

"Are you still out there, Roll?" he called. "Stop hiding! We have unfinished business."

Taking one last look around, he began to wonder if she had actually teleported away. He turned back towards Cut Man's remains with a dissatisfied grunt, just in time to see Roll picking up one of his pieces.

"What?!"

Lightning chased her as she pulled away. She dropped the piece of Cut Man once the data had finished downloading, her outfit turning gray; Elec Man kept up his attack, but it was slower now, giving her more time to maneuver around the area as she took aim. Three replicas of Cut Man's blade shot from her arm cannon, weaving around Elec Man's bolts and forcing him to jump back to avoid being sliced. Roll pressed her advantage, gradually adjusting her angle of approach to guide Elec Man's retreat. It wasn't long before he was driven up against a line of trees.

"No…this is absurd!" he shouted. "Me, losing to you? It's unthinkable!"

Bolts flew out wildly. Roll calmly avoided each one, and then fired another blade. Elec Man dodged and grinned, raising his arm to retaliate, but he never did. The blade clipped a massive branch, causing it to drop on Elec Man and pin him to the ground. Roll fired once more to end the fight.

"That was too close," she sighed.

She came forward and reached for Elec Man's frame, downloading his weapon data and then hesitantly reaching for her communicator.

"Um, Dr. Light…?"

"Oh, thank God you're alright!" Light said. "What were you thinking, Roll?!"

Before she could answer, LaLinde asked, "Roll, what's your status? What about the Robot Masters?"

"I've taken care of it," Roll said. "Cut Man and Elec Man have both been stopped."

"You…you did it?" Light asked.

"Barely. I, um…I think I'm ready to come home now, if that's okay? I really need to recharge before anything else."

"Oh, of course! Of course, just give us a moment, Roll."

The doctors mumbled something as they went to work. Roll found herself a bit nervous to see them, but exhausted as she was, that feeling seemed miles away.

_Almost…this whole thing is almost over._

* * *

As he watched the end of the fight on his screen, Wily smashed his fist into the control panel. "Confound it! Can't these pathetic robots do _anything _right?!"

Rolling his chair back, Wily put a hand over his face, gently rubbing his forehead.

"She's a prototype—a lab assistant! With a rush job for armor and weapons! How is it possible that she's been able to beat four of my Robot Masters so quickly? At this rate…"

He gave a frustrated hum as he glared at the ceiling.

"At this rate…perhaps I'll need Plan B after all."

With some reluctance, Wily rolled his chair back over to the console, typing into it to bring up video feeds monitoring the final two Robot Masters.

"Fire Man! Ice Man!" he barked. "Return to base immediately! Your brothers have failed, so this time we will take no chances! With the two of you working together, taking advantage of the many traps I've laid in this facility, there is no conceivable way Roll can escape destruction!"

"Roger that!" Fire Man said. "My flames of justice will burn her to cinders!"

"Hah, like I'll need _his_ help!" Ice Man said. "But if those are your orders, I'm on my way."

As he shut off the screen, Wily snickered to himself. "Neheheh…and if somehow she does survive…I'll be prepared to confront her with something even more cunning!"

* * *

Notes:

-Tag-teaming the Robot Masters seemed like the best way to maintain a bit of variety while moving things along. Even with only four rounds to write, I was beginning to run out of steam—I shudder to think how stuck I would've gotten with six or eight. Related, I'm also forgoing the rematches: while a great gameplay device, in purely written form like this, it has a high risk of getting really boring really fast.

-Also as part of that, I feel like I should give a bit of a disclaimer that there's no guarantee your favorite Robot Master will get a lot of screentime/focus. I'm carefully arranging things so that they'll all make an appearance, but I just can't give deep developments to over 100 characters over the course of what would probably be several years. Sorry, but I'm just one guy! (And if you're specifically wondering about Time Man and Oil Man: while they won't be in the story just yet, rest assured I do have plans to include them.)


	3. Fight 1-3

Roll sat a bench on one side of the laboratory, kicking her legs absent-mindedly as the wires hooked to her back gradually recharged her energy. On the far side of the room, Light worked silently at a console, hands shaking slightly.

LaLinde approached, asking, "Any luck?"

"I'm afraid not," he replied. "I can't seem to locate the final two. Perhaps Wily is jamming us somehow…"

LaLinde glanced briefly back at Roll. "…Are you alright?"

Light's fingers stopped. "I am a bit scared. That's making it rather hard to focus."

"She came back, Thomas."

"I know. But those moments when I couldn't reach her terrified me."

LaLinde nodded. "I can understand that."

He turned towards her. "Noele, I think I better follow your reasoning now. I never want to feel that kind of horror again. But, truthfully…even if I were to remove Roll's emotional programming, I think I'd feel it just the same. I can't simply go back to seeing her as a collection of parts now that I've seen her be so much more."

Quietly, LaLinde murmured, "Perhaps you have a point." Speaking up, she went on, "At the very least, will you consider making a change with future models? This sentimentality serves no purpose other than to destroy us, Thomas. It hinders their ability to perform and our ability to order them. If you weren't so attached, you wouldn't have tried to call her back when it turned out to be unnecessary."

"So, you think leaving her there was the right thing to do?"

"Yes."

"That was _her decision_, Noele. A decision she wouldn't have made if she was only programmed to follow orders. You agree with her judgment—are you still sure she doesn't need it?"

LaLinde fell silent at this.

Back across the lab, Tempo came up to Roll and examined her power connections, making some minor adjustments with a screwdriver. Roll asked, "Do you think they're mad at me?"

"Unknown," Tempo said. "Unable to process data type."

Roll looked over her shoulder. "…What do you think, Tempo? About me cutting off communication like that?"

"Termination of communication is unwise. Robots are meant to follow orders. You ignored a request and removed the possibility of receiving further orders. This is a defect."

"That's what I thought you'd say." Roll shook her head. "You never used to talk like that."

"Clarify. Are you referring to conversations held while I still possessed emotional programming?"

"Yes, and I know that's the reason why, but…look. Even if we have orders, I was also given my own judgment, and I can't just not listen to it. Maybe I won't always be right, but neither will Dr. Light or Dr. LaLinde. Should we have to risk ourselves entirely on someone else's judgment when we know it's not infallible?"

Meeting her gaze, Tempo said, "If we are programmed to, then yes."

Roll frowned. "Can't we be more than just programming, Tempo? Isn't that exactly why Robot Masters like us were made? We're designed to be as close to human as possible. If you aren't able to make your own decisions, then are you really fulfilling that design?"

Tempo paused in her work. As she processed this, trying to formulate a response, a high-pitched whine suddenly rang out, and the screen of Light's console turned to static. Roll disconnected herself and ran over as an image of Wily slowly came into focus.

"Well, haven't you lot been busy!" Wily said. "I'll give you some credit, Light: never in a million years did I think you'd be able to jury-rig a combat model out of a prototype housekeeper!"

"Wily," Light said, "put an end to this madness! The Robot Masters have suffered enough!"

"Suffered?! Nehahahaha! They're machines, Light! Were it even _possible_ for them to suffer, who cares? They exist to follow orders! You should be thankful I've brought out their true potential, unencumbered by that petty gentleness you programmed them with!"

LaLinde shuddered at his words. Roll stepped forward, saying, "Thankful?! Why would we be thankful you're forcing my brothers to fight? You coward: you wouldn't even be able to cause trouble if you hadn't stolen the Robot Masters!"

"What?!" Wily shouted. "Why you…! Hrrg…allow me to prove you wrong!"

He hit a key, and data began to stream across the lower corner of the screen.

"I called because it's time for us to settle this futile battle! Come to these coordinates if you dare, Roll—once you see the genius designs packing my robot factory, then you'll realize you should never have questioned my brilliance!"

"Fine with me!" Roll said. "I'm more than ready for this to be over!"

"Excellent! I look forward to seeing you turned into a pile of scrap! Nehahahaha!"

The image vanished. Roll turned to Light, but hesitated. He set a hand on her head and looked hard at her.

"Roll," he said. "He's no doubt gone to great lengths to stack this in his favor. Going there will be far more dangerous than fighting Robot Masters out in the open."

"I know," Roll said. "But Dr Light, I have to go! We can't afford to just sit around, and we haven't been able to find Fire Man or Ice Man—this is our only chance to stop Wily! I promise I'll be careful…I promise I won't cut communication again. Please, let me do this!"

Light looked to LaLinde, but she turned away—toward Tempo. Scanning over the coordinates, he said, "It will take a few minutes to prepare the transport…make sure you're prepared."

Roll smiled. "Thank you, Dr. Light! Don't worry: I'll definitely put an end to Wily's plans and come home safe!"

* * *

The coordinates sent Roll to a small, barren island, where armored metal walls could be seen bulging from the rocky crags like parasitic growths. Roll advanced cautiously, buster armed, and scanned for an entrance.

"I'm picking up several hostiles closing in!" Dr. Light said. "Although, it looks like our instruments can't penetrate the fortress walls…"

Roll jumped around a corner and fired. A dozen or so small, cricket-like robots met her, one of them immediately taken out by her shot. As she readied a Hyper Bomb, a sound from above caught her attention: a flock of hemisphere-shaped robots with fast-spinning propellers descended, firing weak shots in her direction. Roll tossed the bomb and jumped clear. Most of the crickets were destroyed in the blast, and she kept an eye on the remaining few as she launched a Rolling Cutter at the drones. The projectile sliced the propellers off several of them, dropping them to the rocky ground with enough force to render them inoperable. She next used a Thunder Beam, the wide spray of voltage wiping out nearly all of the surviving opposition, but she could see more moving in to replace them already.

"I'm going to get nowhere fast like this," Roll said.

She bounded forward, weaving her way through the oncoming forces and only shooting down what she absolutely needed to. As she drew closer to the factory, she spotted mounted artillery, nearly taking a direct hit from one, but she kept moving forward until she laid eyes on a door. A second later, however, something dropped down from above: a large robot with a round body and single eye atop a single leg. She came to a halt as it hopped forward. After watching it for a few seconds, she sprang into action, sliding beneath the giant sentry just as it jumped; not wasting any time, she activated Super Arm and ripped the door off its hinges, throwing it back at the jumping robot to knock it onto its side.

"Dr. Light," she said as she headed inside, "can you still hear me?"

"Yes, for now," came the garbled reply. "But there's a good chance we'll lose contact before much longer. Just…be careful, Roll."

Roll's footsteps echoed around her as she ran through the vast metallic hallway, the path lined with dozens of robots in various stages of assembly and sporadic beds of spikes. A few active robots came to meet her, but she dealt with them all easily. A bit too easily, she thought.

"Dr. Light?"

There was no reply.

"That was fast…"

There was a burst of orange light. Diving aside, she narrowly avoided a fireball. She tried to stand, but a blast of ice came next, so she kept herself pressed against the floor. Looking up, she spotted two figures up ahead: one was short, clad in a blue coat trimmed with white fur, while the other was tall and covered in red and silver armor, with cannons for hands and an ever-burning flame atop his head.

"So this is where you've been!" Roll said, finally back on her feet. "Ice Man, Fire Man, I don't want to hurt you! Just let me through so I can stop Dr. Wily and—"

More elemental blasts came her way. As she evaded, Ice Man said, "I think not! I've been stationed to guard this factory, meaning you'll be frozen in place here for the rest of eternity!"

"Roll!" called Fire Man. "It's time to see which one of us truly has justice on their side! Don't hold anything back!"

Ice Man rolled his eyes, muttering, "Why are you encouraging her? Get a move on, hothead!"

Roll jumped behind one of the taller inactive robots, letting it shield her for the moment. Fire Man continued attacking, keeping her pinned down; she caught a glimpse of Ice Man moving in and, thinking fast, began to climb up the large machine she was using as cover. Ice Man leapt forward and shot an icicle only to hit empty air. He spotted Roll just as she took aim at him, stumbling back but ultimately being sent flying by a Thunder Beam. Roll started to climb down, but then Fire Man appeared from the other side of the robot, surprising her and knocking her to the floor with his next shot.

"Took your eyes off me, didn't you?" Fire Man said. "Guess I have to prove myself as a worthy opponent!"

Roll fired a Rolling Cutter as she recovered. Flames orbited Fire Man, melting the projectile as soon as it made contact. She dodged another fireball, carefully considering her options, when she heard a shout from behind.

"Not so fast!" Ice Man said. Having given himself away, Roll was easily able to dodge his next ice blast: it flew right at Fire Man only to be intercepted by the flames, barely slowing him down.

_I guess that won't work this time,_ she thought.

Roll slid clear of the elemental crossfire her enemies launched at her, stopping just short of a bed of spikes. Ice Man hit her before she could get away, freezing her momentarily; turning to Fire Man, he pointed, and then stood there expectantly. Fire Man waited until Roll was free before resuming his attack.

"You idiot!" Ice Man said. "You had the perfect chance to end her!"

"It wouldn't have been sporting," Fire Man said. "Besides, this fight has only just begun!"

"Sporting?! Why you absolute—"

A Thunder Beam came their way, only narrowly missing. Roll, now in a less dangerous position, fired once more to force her foes to scatter, and then turned to throw a Hyper Bomb at Fire Man. It made contact with his flame barrier, exploding instantly and stunning him. Ice Man saw an opening, but Roll anticipated him, sliding clear of the blast and retaliating with a Rolling Cutter that caught him off-guard. He growled in frustration.

"Sporting, hmph!" Ice Man said, cold air exuding from him. "If that's what you want, then I've got a sport for you to try! Ice skating!"

With a swing of his arms, a huge swath of the floor was flash frozen. Roll took extra care in dodging, sure to stay away from the icy patch, but her options dwindled as Ice Man continued coating the floor whenever he had the chance.

"Hey, aren't you going overboard?" Fire Man asked.

"Shut up!" Ice Man said. "Just make yourself useful already!"

Briefly hesitating, Fire Man raised his cannons. Now with even more shots incoming, her running space still shrinking, Roll decided to fall back a bit, disappearing behind a line of incomplete robots to buy some time. Both of her foes moved in.

"You're finished, Roll!" Ice Man called. "Give up now and we'll make it as painless as possible!"

A Hyper Bomb went off. Spinning around, Ice Man saw the legs of an especially massive robot still shuddering from the explosion, and Roll jumping up behind it, Super Arm engaged.

"What are you…"

She punched the robot with all her might. The unsteady legs buckled, and its momentum carried it forward, its shadow reaching over Ice Man and Fire Man. They scrambled in opposite directions, but Ice Man realized too late he was heading for a part of the floor he had previously frozen. While he was equipped for such conditions, it still took him an extra moment to find his footing, and it was a moment he didn't have. The great machine fell right on top of him with a loud crash.

"Ice Man!" Fire Man said. "Are you still functioning?"

A tense silence followed. The robot shifted a bit, and sure enough, Ice Man crawled out from under it, badly damaged but still finding a way to get himself upright.

"Ah, good," Fire Man said. "Now, where is Roll?"

A Thunder Beam suddenly surged through Ice Man. He screamed as the current totally fried his remaining circuits, and then went silent, collapsing limply. Roll hurriedly rushed forward to set a hand on him as Fire Man processed what had happened.

"You…you villain!" Fire Man yelled. "Have you no honor?!"

Roll turned blue and white. Testing her new weapon with a few shots, she said, "I already gave you a chance to surrender! This has gone on way too long, Fire Man! The sooner this is over, the sooner we can rebuild all of you, and things will go back to normal!"

Flames danced around him, melting the ice shots. "You truly believe things will simply go back to normal? Events this momentous cannot simply be put away!"

Two spiraling blasts of fire shot from his cannons. Roll leapt out of the way, preparing a Hyper Bomb. "What are you talking about?"

Fire Man dodged the explosive, saying, "I see. You've focused so much on fixing the present that the only future you can imagine is drawn from the past! Someone like you is unfit to carry the torch of justice!"

Roll shook her head. "I don't understand what you're saying!"

Simply giving a yell, Fire Man charged in with cannons blazing. Roll retaliated with a Thunder Beam, severely restricting his space; while he was focused on dodging, she managed to land a hit with the Ice Slasher, causing Fire Man's body to lock up temporarily and the flame atop his head to go out for just a moment. He paused to heat himself back up, and Roll used that time to move in. Having learned his timing, and no longer needing to split her attention, Roll was able to continue pelting Fire Man with ice, forcing him back. Eventually he feinted, trying to surprise her. The blast caught Roll on the shoulder, but she pressed ahead, this time using the Super Arm to deliver a punch that sent Fire Man sliding back along the ice that still coated the floor.

"Please, Fire Man," Roll said. "Give up now, or I'll have to destroy you!"

Despite his momentum waning, Fire Man still couldn't quite find his balance. "Never! Justice battles until the very end! And it never loses to…ah!"

The ice carried him to the edge of a spike-filled pit. He had slowed enough that he did not immediately fall in, but he wobbled there precariously. Roll prepared to offer to help him. When he launched a fireball at her, she sighed, and hurled a Hyper Bomb back. Fire Man blocked it with flames, but the explosion still threw him off, and he tumbled onto the spikes.

Very slowly, Roll made her way over. She stooped and reached out, barely able to grab hold of him to download his weapon data; she wanted to at least pull him out, but there was no way for her to do so without falling in herself. Letting go, Roll returned to the center of the hallway and continued forward.

_Things will go back to normal…won't they? Dr. Light can rebuild all the Robot Masters, and they can follow their original programming. The only reason this is happening is because of Dr. Wily—once I stop him, then nothing will be standing in the way!_

Roll stopped before an enormous door made of silver metal. With a hydraulic hiss, it slowly began to rise.

_Everything will be normal again…definitely…_

The room beyond was poorly lit, but the way her footsteps echoed indicated it was rather spacious. At the center of the floor was Wily, sitting in his grounded saucer, tapping his fingers as he glared at the approaching robot. She came to a halt a few paces before him.

"It's over, Dr. Wily!" Roll said. "You're coming with me!"

Wily's fingers fell still. Leaning back, he said, "I think not! I have absolutely no intention of resting until my grand designs have been fully realized!"

"Can't you see what you're doing is wrong? Stealing innocent robots, reprogramming them to hurt innocent people—what are you really going to gain from this?"

"Recognition! Acknowledgement! I've tried to put my skills to work for the 'benefit of humanity', and what have I to show for it? Nothing! At least now, people know not to take me so lightly! Far better to be a danger known 'round the world than to labor selflessly in obscurity!"

Roll scowled at him. "…At least you're happy, then. Enjoy your fame in prison."

A grin cracked Wily's face. "Oh, I won't be going to jail, little robot. You may have destroyed all of my Robot Masters…but I'm not done yet!"

He pressed a button and the room began to shake. The saucer closed up, and the floor split in two, slowly retracting to either side to reveal the room was far larger than it seemed. Attached to the bottom of the saucer was a massive machine made of golden metal, a propeller on its back and a large pipe running along the front, centered on a red cannon. Roll jumped down to the floor and took aim at the craft.

"I see now I was wrong to rely on Light's flawed work!" came Wily's voice. "Even enhanced by my genius, it can only achieve so much. So! Instead, I will destroy you with a contraption entirely of my own design!"

Roll opened fire, but her shots had no effect. As she began to charge energy instead, the great machine's cannon shifted position, launching an enormous orb of white light upward. Almost as soon as it was launched, it fell to the floor. Watching in confusion, Roll was right next to it when it bounced, unable to pull away fast enough to avoid being knocked down by the searing-hot energy. Wily laughed and fired another shot.

"Finally, my victory is at hand! Prepare for destruction, accursed, feeble little robot!"

Carefully dodging, Roll launched her charged shot, doing some damage but not much. "You don't care about robots at all, do you? Why dedicate your life to studying something you don't love?"

Wily scoffed. "You really are one of Light's. The potential of robotics is vast, and I seek to explore that potential to its fullest! But the sappy, sentimental way Light goes about it will never yield truly worthwhile results!"

Roll threw a Hyper Bomb. It seemed to work a little better than the charged shot, but Wily just kept attacking.

"And even if I did reprogram the Robot Masters, you were the one who destroyed them! Should _anyone_ be blamed for causing them suffering, it should be you!"

She gritted her teeth. Blasting the craft with a Thunder Beam, she shouted, "No! This is all _your _doing, Wily! I'm not proud of what I had to do, but I know I'm not the one to blame for us being in this situation!"

Wily simply grunted, keeping up his assault. Roll tried the Ice Slasher next, temporarily freezing chunks of the pipe, but the ice melted near-instantly when the cannon next fired.

_Is this the only weapon he has? He's channeling a lot of heat through it…_

An idea struck her. Roll's clothes turned orange and yellow as she equipped Fire Storm, and then she hurled a series of fireballs directly at the cannon. Wily thought nothing of it and attempted to fire. However, the temperature of the barrel had skyrocketed from Roll's attack, and when even more superheated energy moved to build up within it, it proved too much. The artillery exploded in a fiery display, blowing off huge pieces of the machine in the process. From the now-exposed cockpit, Wily glared down at Roll, growling as he mashed the controls.

"No, no!" he shouted. "I will not lose to Light again! I refuse!"

The remains of the cannon flared to life, spitting out a random spread of unfocused energy. Roll braced herself as the attack flew by; spotting exposed wiring, she switched to Rolling Cutter and aimed carefully, and soon the craft began to buck and veer wildly.

"You say you want to explore robots' potential," Roll said, "but you threw away Dr. Light's way of bringing it out. You won't ever understand us if you think like that!"

Energy continued to fly out from the machine. Roll hit it with a Thunder Beam, and its engine began to sputter.

"I hope Dr. Light finds a way to get through to you, Dr. Wily! But either way, you won't be able to hurt anyone else!"

She lobbed a Hyper Bomb, blowing off an entire side of the machine. It started to fall, and Wily, giving a furious shout, angled it in Roll's direction. She engaged the Super Arm and dug in her heels. Swinging at just the right time, she punched the incoming craft, causing it to crumple and tear to pieces, ultimately crashing around her with a thunderous noise. She paused a moment and surveyed the sparking heap, and then let out a sigh of relief.

She trudged over towards the cockpit, buster armed and ready. Wily pulled himself from the wreckage with a groan, dusting off his lab coat as he examined his injuries; spotting Roll, he recoiled, and then hastily looked over his shoulder.

"Alright…" Roll said. "Anything else? Or can we go?"

Wily continued to look about, muttering to himself under his breath. "This wasn't supposed to…I'm not…I'm not sure what I should do now…do I…?"

Before Roll could inquire further, her communicator came back to life. Light said, "Testing…Roll, can you hear me? Hello?"

"Dr. Light?" she replied. "You're back! Yes, I can hear you just fine."

"Ah, finally! What's your status?"

"I'm okay. Fire Man and Ice Man were waiting, but I defeated them, and I've got Dr. Wily right here. I'm just about to—"

A strange whistle filled the air, and Wily's entire body froze. Roll surveyed the room to locate the source of the sound, and became aware of a new figure standing off in the corner: a humanoid form clad in red and gray armor, face obscured by a visored helmet, and a yellow scarf tied around his neck.

"Who are you?" Roll asked. She didn't raise her buster, but she didn't disarm it.

He stared at her silently. When he turned to Wily, the old man jumped, scurrying back and saying, "I-I did what you asked! All of it! It's not my fault she managed to stop me, Break Man!"

"Roll?" Light asked. "What's going on? Who is Wily talking to?"

Break Man turned back to Roll. She couldn't see his eyes, but she could feel the contempt of his gaze just the same. Eventually, he turned, stepping into the shadows and teleporting away. Wily collapsed with a loud sigh.

"Finally…" he said. "Maybe now he'll leave me alone…"

"What's going on?" Roll asked. "How do you know that guy—who is he?"

Sitting up, Wily replied, "I'm, uh, not entirely sure. He just showed up one day, threatening to kill me if I didn't do what he asked. For whatever reason, he wanted me to reprogram Thomas's Robot Masters, let them run amok, and claim responsibility for it."

Roll squinted at him. "Hold on: you mean this was all an act? Everything was Break Man's idea?"

"That's right!" Wily said, edging forward. "Thomas and I may not see eye to eye, but I'd _never _resort to something like this! I was just so afraid…a helpless old man like me can't possibly defend himself against a robot that dangerous!"

"I see," Light said. "That explains it, then."

"Hold on a second, Thomas," LaLinde said. "Should we really believe him just like that? He hardly seemed to be acting when he barged in here."

"I'm not so sure either," Roll said. "Why would Break Man wait to show up until now if this was what he wanted?"

"We can sort out the details later," Light said. "Either way, we can't simply leave Albert there. Bring him back with you, Roll—we can decide what to do from there."

"Alright, doctor."

Roll held out her hand. Smiling, Wily said, "Oh, yes, I'll come back with you! And thank you, Roll: I'm glad someone was able to put a stop this madness."

"Sure," Roll said as Wily took her hand. "My pleasure."

* * *

"…and, you know the rest," Wily finished.

Standing outside Wily's cell, Light stroked his beard, muttering, "Break Man, is it? I wonder…"

Behind him, LaLinde and their prototypes were also gathered, each deciding for themselves how much of the story they believed. Wily said, "I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused. At first I was only doing the minimum, thinking that'd be enough, but Break Man caught on…I had no choice but to go all out."

"So," LaLinde said, "you didn't actually mean what you said about robots? That they only exist to follow orders, and their pain doesn't matter?"

"No, of course not! I just said the most heartless things I could think of, to be more convincing."

She glanced back at Tempo, who stood perfectly still. Next to her, Rock said, "Dr. Light, you know him best. What do you think?"

Wily looked up at Light sheepishly as the doctor thought. With a solemn nod, Light finally said, "We've always had our differences…but you deserve a chance to prove yourself, Albert."

Wily smiled. "Thank you, Thomas. You won't regret it!"

"Further, if Break Man is still out there, then it's likely we'll be hearing from him again. We need to be prepared, and having your expertise on our side will go a long way towards that end."

"Oh, of course! I have a few ideas already—things I thought of to counter Break Man but never got the chance to build. We should get started as soon as we can."

"Indeed. I'll see what I can do to get you out of there. For now, get some rest, Albert: I imagine you've been under quite a bit of pressure as of late."

Wily nodded, laying down on his bed as the others left. Once outside, Rock said, "What do we do now, doctor?"

Light put his hands in his pockets. "We've got plenty of work ahead of us. In addition to helping Albert, I want to get the Robot Masters repaired quickly. Noele, would you be able to lend me a hand?"

LaLinde thought for a moment. Pulling Tempo close, she said, "Yes, but…there's something else I need to take care of first."

"…Oh. I see! Yes, of course!"

Light then turned to Roll, who brought up the rear of the group. Her eyes were fixed on the ground, and her movements were short and somewhat sluggish.

"Roll? Are you alright?"

She looked up suddenly. "Huh? Oh, yes, I'm fine."

Light waited.

"…I just…was really hoping that things would go back to normal once this was all over. But now that we know about Break Man, it looks like…we're going to have to fight him, too."

The doctor walked over and knelt next to her, setting his hands on her shoulders. "Yes, we will. But you've done enough, Roll. This time, we'll have a chance to be ready, meaning we won't need to put this burden on your shoulders. You don't have to fight anymore."

Roll looked up at him, silent at first. "…I want to stop, but…I don't think I should. Now that I know I can help, it'd feel wrong to sit by and do nothing."

"Hm…I understand. At the very least, you can afford to put it out of your mind for now. We're not sure what form the next battle may take, or what Albert and I will have ready to deal with it. You don't have to decide today, my dear."

Slowly, she nodded. "Okay."

"And Roll?"

"Yes?"

Light hugged her. "I'm so proud of you."

"H-Huh?"

"I know this has been hard on you, but despite that, you achieved everything you set out to do. The world is safe because of you. The Robot Masters are going to return to their rightful places, all because of what you did. I'm sorry that you had to be put into this situation…but I'm so proud of the way you've persevered."

A smile came to Roll's face. She leaned into Light's shoulder and let out a long sigh, relaxing for what felt like the first time in years.

"Let's go home. Things may not be exactly the same, but we can still put this event behind us."

Pulling away, Roll nodded. "Right. Let's go!"

As they headed on their way, Roll felt largely relieved thanks to the doctor's words. Still, a background process continued running, contemplating the possibility that her days of fighting had only just begun.

* * *

Notes:

-And there we are! This particular arc didn't change much, but things will build upon each other from here on out. Hard to say when exactly I'll have the second arc done: being back in college has taken a good amount of my time and energy, I have other ongoing fics to continue, and I still have to finish Shooting Star Sonia in particular, but I'll be sure to keep working on SFR while all that's going on! I hope you enjoyed this first piece of the story, and with luck I'll see you again soon!


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